Lee Nak-yeon "Sudden Resignation from Lawmaker Position" Takes a Do-or-Die Step

"Will Give Everything to Repay the Debt Owed to Democracy, the Democratic Party, and the Republic of Korea"

"Must Present a Candidate Worthy of the Democratic Party and Democratic Values," Emphasized

On the 8th, Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, held a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council and announced his resignation from the council member position.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] On the 8th, Lee Nak-yeon, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Gwangju and held a press conference to announce his sudden resignation from the National Assembly.

Local political figures analyze that Candidate Lee took a 'do-or-die' stance to consolidate his support base.

At the press conference held at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council on the same day, Candidate Lee stated, “I will relinquish my position as a member of the National Assembly to protect the values of the Democratic Party and democracy and devote myself to the reestablishment of the government,” adding, “I will throw everything I have to repay the debt I owe to democracy, the Democratic Party, and the Republic of Korea.”

He said, “As the party leader, I take pride in the significant progress made in the institutional aspects of our country's democracy since 1987,” and emphasized, “Among these, the most meaningful achievement is the so-called 5·18 Historical Distortion Punishment Act, which criminalizes the distortion of the May 18 Democratic Movement through false information.”

He continued, “This is a solemn declaration that no one can damage the spirit of Gwangju,” and stressed, “However, the unfinished tasks of uncovering the truth about May 18 and resolving the grievances of the victims of the Yeosu-Suncheon incident must also be addressed to the end.”

Candidate Lee said, “The spirit of the Democratic Party is to pursue the values of democracy that were protected at the cost of lives or lifelong dedication, and because the Democratic Party has upheld and pursued such spirit, Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in, all from the Democratic Party, developed the nation and elevated its status,” and raised doubts, “I wonder if the current Democratic Party presidential primary is heading in a direction that properly embodies such spirit.”

He also questioned, “How is it possible to think that the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate does not need to be moral? Are we okay with the absurd reality where the Democratic Party and the conservative opposition party reverse roles in moral attacks and defenses?” He insisted, “We must present a candidate who is not shameful before the spirits of May 18 and the senior party members who sacrificed and devoted themselves to uphold the values of the Democratic Party. We must present a candidate worthy of the values of the Democratic Party and democracy.”

In particular, he stated, “Education, medical care, electricity, and water are essential public goods for the lives of the people, and their privatization is dangerous for the social community,” and expressed concern, “Recently, concerns about the privatization of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) have increased. I oppose the privatization of public goods.”

Furthermore, he said, “The idea of creating new taxes or increasing taxes and distributing the money equally to both the rich and the poor hinders the path to a universal welfare state,” and declared, “I will strengthen the path to a welfare state with new welfare policies. Including such policies, I will stake my political career on resolving polarization by any means.”

In the subsequent announcement of the Gwangju and Jeonnam development strategy, he presented a vision to make Gwangju and Jeonnam hubs for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, focusing on artificial intelligence, energy convergence industries, and cultural and artistic content industries.

Candidate Lee first announced plans to make Gwangju the AI capital of the Republic of Korea by realizing Gwangju’s AI vision and expanding national support to open the AI Gwangju era.

To this end, he plans to build a global-level AI cluster that consolidates core resources for AI development?data, technical personnel, infrastructure such as data centers, and demonstration equipment?in one place.

He also promised to establish an AI-based cultural and artistic content hub, supporting the development of Gwangju as a cultural capital centered on the Asia Culture Center, thereby promoting the cultural and artistic content industry and revitalizing the cultural and artistic tourism industry.

In particular, to develop the Bitgreen Industrial Complex into a mecca for the future electric vehicle industry, he pledged to extend benefits for compact cars to secure the competitiveness of Gwangju’s completed car, the first win-win regional job, and to regularize the pan-government consultative body for the relocation of Gwangju military airport, aiming to achieve results within his term.

With the goal of making Jeonnam the energy hub of Northeast Asia, he also announced plans to complete the Honam region’s super-regional energy economic community (RE300), foster the national drone industry hub, promote the Korean version of the Apollo Project centered on Jeonnam, advance the southern region’s wide-area tourism development project, and provide special support for regions facing local extinction.

He presented a blueprint to support the achievement of Honam RE300 through offshore wind power and solar power generation, foster green manufacturing and parts industries, and establish the foundation for Honam (Naju) to become the center of the Northeast Asia super grid (Mongolia-China-Korea-Japan-Russia).

Alongside this, Candidate Lee proposed strategies to create a Gwangju-Jeonnam mega city, including fostering local talent, establishing a locally led innovation growth ecosystem, supporting the growth of hometown companies and relocated companies, building a wide-area transportation network, expanding port and logistics infrastructure, and improving the preliminary feasibility study system.

For the construction of the wide-area transportation network, he pledged to start early construction of the Gwangju-Daegu Dalbit Inland Railroad and promote the construction of the Mokpo-Busan KTX, aiming to swiftly build a high-speed rail network where the KTX starting from Mokpo connects to Seoul, passes through Gyeongnam to Busan, through Chungbuk to Gangwon, and then through Sinuiju and Rajin to China, Russia, and Europe.

He also promised to realize the joint hosting of the 2038 Asian Games by Gwangju and Daegu, showcasing the power of East-West harmony and the proud world culture of Gwangju and Jeonnam across Asia, and to support the joint hosting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties by Jeonnam and Gyeongnam.

Meanwhile, 16 Democratic Party members of the National Assembly who support Candidate Lee attended the press conference, including Lee Byung-hoon, Hong Sung-guk, Oh Young-hwan, Lee Gae-ho, Yoon Jae-gap, Heo Jong-sik, Park Kwang-on, Kim Cheol-min, Park Young-soon, Hong Ki-won, Choi In-ho, Heo Young, Seo Dong-yong, Kim Ju-young, Oh Young-hoon, and Kim Seung-nam.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.